Mama, Where Are You?
by Kikuchi-Chan
Summary: Hetalia AU. Shanghai, 2004. Alice Kirkland-Wang was living a good life with her husband Yao and their son Li Xiao, until she became pregnant with her second child. Yao was made redundant from work and they lost everything. They're now living in the shadiest part of town. Kid!Hong Kong, Fem! England and China. Rated T for character death. Rating may change in later chapters


Quiet footsteps padded down the hallways, the sound seeming to resound through the silent halls. Around his shoulders, and- Curse his height- Dragging along the floor after him, was the warm blankets of his bed, masking the form of the shivering Cantonese boy. "喂? [Hello?] Damn- His throat hurt. Li Xiao frowned lightly, stopping dead in his tracks. The large windows on the opposite walls were the only things really illuminating the halls; As thankful as he was, for that, the light streaming in only seemed to be worsening his headache. Turning his head aside from them a little, a soft sigh was given up, as he pulled the blankets a bit closer. The night air seemed to nip at his extremities, even with the faint humming of the heaters, and he was definitely not imagining the stinging in his throat or the headache that seemed to thump against his temples. After a moment, Li Xiao continued onwards, only stopping when he came to an all too familiar door, left ever so slightly ajar. Taking a quiet breath, the boy reached out to push it open a little, flinching a little at the creak it took to open. Peering into the dark room, a little uneasily- Admittedly he hated the dark- He spoke up. "喂? [Hello?]" He repeated, cheeks flushing a little as he tried his best to swallow back the bile he could feel rising in his throat once more. "You awake?"

Alice stirred a little from what was meant to be a rather peaceful nap. She slowly opened her eyes and looked towards the small child. Sitting up slowly and resting her hand on her largely swollen stomach she frowned a little "You're meant to be asleep"

Li Xiao peered across to her uneasily, shifting his weight between his feet before he leaned on the doorframe instead. He hugged his blankets close around himself as he slowly padded closer, and steadied himself on the edge of her bed frame to press the blankets closer to his face, sniffling quietly as he held a hand out for her.

She looked at him concerned, knowing something was wrong. She quickly reached for the small brown glasses that were sitting delicately upon the bedside table and looked quickly over the child. "Leon, what's the matter? And why are you dragging half your bed behind you?" She willingly took his hand and gently kissed it, trying to ease the pain somewhat. The boy could feel his cheeks flush some as she took his hand, and he just held his blankets a little closer, squeezing his eyes closed. He didn't dare speak for a moment, though he soon broke his silence, voice muffled by the bed sheets. "I don't feel well," He managed, stomach lurching as he spoke, to force a few tears to sting in his eyes. He swallowed hard, burying his face back into his blankets.

Alice pulled him close so both their bodies were in a tight embrace. She raised her hand to his forehead to feel his temperature. She quickly pulled her hand away and held him closer "Mama's here my darling baby boy, it's all alright" From the sheets that still covered the lower of half of her body Li Xiao could see the curve of the delicate baby bump of his mother's pregnancy. He whimpered lowly as he was hoisted up, but cuddled in a little, peering up to her as she felt at his forehead. He didn't say much else in response, and just peered up to her for a minute longer, before his gaze flickered down to her stomach, and he pressed a hand to it lightly, as he leaned down in her arms. "I'm cold," He mumbled before he pulled his sheets tighter around himself, cheeks reddening a bit as he tried to swallow down the bile in his throat once more.

She sighed a little and gentle kissed his forehead trying to comfort him. After a few moments of holding him closer she stood up, took his hand and walked with him into the dully lit bathroom. She rummaged through the small cupboard that sat above the sink and brought out a bottle of children's medicine and a thermometer. She prized open the boy's mouth and gently put the thermometer in for a few minutes. He obliged accordingly, closing his lips around the device. He only stayed like that for a minute or so before he reached up to pluck the thermometer from his mouth instead of waiting, brows furrowing a bit. She sighed and tried again, each time watching the boy spit the thermometer out onto the floor. She knelt down in front of him and gently cupped his burning cheeks with her soft delicate hands "Please Leon, let Mama make you better. I know it feels weird to have it in your mouth, but Mama is worried about you" At that moment they both heard the creaky old front door open and quickly slam shut. In the corridor was the sound of angry Chinese muttering. Li Xiao shook his head a bit as she cupped his cheeks, cheeks reddening a bit even then. "I don't need it." He mumbled with a small sniffle, tugging lightly on the hem of his nightshirt. He peered towards the door of the bedroom when the front door opened, then back to her, sniffling quietly once more. "I don't want to have it in my mouth again, Mama." She ran her hands through Li Xiao's hair, when the door to the bathroom opened to reveal a somewhat tall man standing there. Alice looked towards the door and smiled a little. She stood up and balanced herself before walking over to the tall figure and hugging him tight, resting her head on his chest. Li leaned against her lightly, though peered over to the tall figure by the door as he leaned his weight back on the wall. He remained quiet as he watched, inching back a little from the door and winding his arms back around himself, to try to mask his shivering. Alice looked up at the mysterious man and delicately kissed his cheek "Welcome home Yao" She smiled sweetly at him, waiting for the kiss to be returned. Li Xiao felt his cheeks heating up again as he watched and he cast a faint glance to the thermometer on the floor, before catching his balance again and trotting back towards the door. He inched past them and into the bedroom to pull his blankets off of the bed again, and wrap them around himself firmly, then with slight hesitation, stepped back to Alice's side, holding onto the hem of her shirt lightly as he stood alongside her.

Alice smiled down at him ruffling his soft hair lightly. Yao picked the boy up and held him close to his chest. His breath stank of alcohol and cigarettes and his usually pristine white shirt was stained with a few drops of blood and beer. He smiled weakly at Li and kissed his forehead "Have you been good for Mama today aru?" Li Xiao moaned feebly when he was lifted by Yao, immediately huddling further under his blankets. He stayed quiet for the most part, burying his face in his sheets again, his brows furrowing a little. The smell of smoke from the other was a bit too much for him to handle in his current position, and he did his best to squirm out of his grip when his throat began to sting again, whimpering quietly by way of protest. Yao looked at him confused and held him tighter. Alice sighed a little and took Li Xiao from the drunken man and placed him on the floor. Yao grew angry and he violently slapped her across the face causing her cheek to become bright red. Tiny pricks of tears formed in her eyes and she looked away from the older man gently rubbing her stomach and muttering under her breath. Li Xiao moaned feebly again, but held onto tightly to Alice when he was plucked from his hold. He had barely caught his balance before watching the two, eyes widening some as he did. Almost immediately he resumed Alice's side, tugging on her sleeve in a panic as he stared up to her, as he tried to pull her down to his level. "Mama," He prodded, tugging harder on her sleeve as tears beaded in his eyes. He pretty much dropped his blankets, holding on tightly to her as he stared up at Yao with wide eyes, brows furrowing some despite him. Alice smiled weakly down at the boy, kneeling down and kissing his cheek as reassurance "Mama's fine sweetheart. Daddy's just had a little too much to drink again" She sighed a little and Li could see the sadness growing in her eyes. A single isolated tear dripped down her powdered cheek. Despite her pain and sadness she tried to keep a brave face for the small trembling boy. Tears continued to brim in his eyes even so, and he tugged firmly on his nightshirt again, grip tightening around himself. He stared up at her in disbelief but stayed quiet, and he held his hands out to her, casting a short, quick glance towards Yao, soon becoming more of a glare, despite his trembling. He turned back to Alice and buried his face in her shoulder, holding on tightly to her. He stayed quiet, which was nothing unusual after this sort of thing came about- Normally; he remained silent for a day or two, at most. He just pointed towards the bed, a small sniffle escaping him as he held onto her.

Alice picked him up and held him close as she started carrying him back towards his bedroom. She opened the door to the dingy little box room, seeing the mould patch in the corner of the room was getting worse. She lay him down on the squeaky metal bed and pulled his blankets back over his small shivering body. She kept hold of his hand and cautiously placed it on her stomach. He could feel the soft and gentle kicks of the child growing in her womb, causing a small smile to grow on both their faces "Your little brother or sister is saying hello to you Leon" Alice looked down at the small child and couldn't help but reminisce about the time she was pregnant with him.

**_~Seven years previously~ _**

_A young and beautiful Alice sat on the luscious green grass, smiling at her husband of just 3 months, Yao. The two had been friends for the most of their childhood, always sharing everything and always being together. It was only about 8 months ago that he had proposed to her, and only a few after that, that they were expecting their first child, a boy. She gently rested her hand upon her stomach smiling as she felt the tiny child's kicks from inside her womb. They had only just bought their first house, a cosy little cottage in the suburbs of the capital city of Shanghai. It was small, but there was enough room to convert one of the storage rooms into a child's room. The walls had been painted a beautiful pale green and all the furniture was handmade, specially sent to them from Alice's cousin Berwald. She spent the most of her final months of pregnancy sitting in the hand carved rocking chair talking to the baby, thinking up names for him and watching out the window as the world went by. On the 1__st__ July, 1997, she went into labor in the early hours of the morning. The whole process was smooth and there no complications. She had successfully brought the small blue bundle into the world. She held the sleeping baby close to her chest as she kept fighting to keep her eyes open. Finally the exhaustion took over and she gave the child back to the nurse, falling into a much needed deep sleep. _

He held onto her tighter, keeping his face buried in her shoulder until he was laid down. He held onto her tightly and cuddled into the blankets, sniffling quietly as he drew back from her shoulder. He kept his hand there, managing a smile at the feeling. He didn't say anything, though, but stared intently towards her stomach for a moment, beginning to drift through thoughts about having a sibling. It was a few minutes more before Li Xiao was struggling to keep his eyes open and he buried himself closer, exhaustion getting the better of him, even so. Alice gently swept the hair from his eyes, still smiling at him. She kissed his forehead once again and hummed a familiar tune, a lullaby she had always sung to him. She watched Li slowly fall asleep under the dirty and old bed sheets. She sighed, knowing she had to get new ones, but right now she just couldn't afford them. She cursed under her breath at her useless husband, who was always spending their money on alcohol or prostitutes, but kept her soft green eyes on the boy the whole time.

Li Xiao soon dozed off to the familiar scent of the old bed sheets, which wasn't overly pleasant- He held onto her slightly as he slept; face half hidden in the pillows as he cuddled closer to her. He soon started shivering again, though, grip tightening on her a little. She stayed by his side the whole night, carefully watching him just to make sure his fever didn't worsen. All the night the baby in her womb had been very active, so much so that she had felt painful twinges in her back and lower abdomen. She ignored the pains and focused all her attention on her son. The boy didn't manage to sleep for over a few hours; It was still early in the morning when he next blinked awake, to the black room surrounding him. He cast a glance towards the clock, barely managing to catch a "5AM" from it as he thumped back down on the pillow. But he soon moved to tug on her sleeve, curling in on himself when his stomach lurched again. "Mama," He whispered, his vow of silence going unheeded as bile began to sting in his throat once more. She smiled down at him, her eyes heavy and tired from not being able to sleep. She passed him a small plastic bowl and kept gently running her fingers through his hair, trying to sooth and calm him. However, this didn't work as only five minutes later she was watching the poor boy throw his guts up into the bowl. She sighed and kept gently rubbing his back. Li Xiao held the bowl in his lap firmly, and soon enough he was emptying his stomach out entirely, red in the face and crying despite himself, tears rolling down his cheeks. He refused to say anything between his retching, lowering his head as she rubbed his back. He only managed a feeble apology; hiccupping up his stomach contents once more. She kept soothingly rubbing his back, uttering calming words and moving the hair from his eyes. She couldn't help but feel her heart break at the sight of her precious son being so ill. This was the first time he'd been ill like this, but she couldn't afford a doctor to come and make sure it was anything serious. She sighed but kept calming him. Soon enough, Li Xiao managed to catch his breath again, spitting once or twice before he huddled closer to her, burying his face in her side once more. A small hiccup forced bile back into his mouth and in a small panic, he leaned aside from her, barely getting too far before he emptied his stomach out a little again. Tears beaded in his eyes and with gritted teeth; he slowly pushed himself off the edge of the bed, ignoring his blankets with her as he tottered towards the door, arms tight around his stomach. Alice stood up and walked behind him, curious as to where he was going. She followed him into the bathroom, carrying the bowl so she could empty its contents. She watched the boy for a while. Li Xiao just sat in the middle of the floor to lean back on the bath, sniffling quietly as he buried his face in his arms. "Daddy's scary," He mumbled to her, voice low and hesitant as he spoke. He didn't say much else, though, sniffling quietly again.

She sat down next to him and pulled his small fragile body onto her lap "I know he is sweetheart, but he doesn't mean to be. He does love you a lot" She kept gently rubbing his back, noticing that the twinges in her back were getting worse. She bit her lip to stop herself from showing her weakness in front of her son, but the pain was so overwhelming a quiet whimper escaped from her lips.

"But why is he mean you?" He asked lowly, looking up to her with a confused, upset gaze, even as she rubbed at his back. But hearing a whimper slip his lips he leaned in a little, reaching out for her hand lightly. "Mama?" She tried to smile back at him, but the contractions grew worse. She stood up and steadied herself against the edge of the bathtub. A small reddish/yellow puddle appeared in between her legs as she protectively wrapped an arm around her stomach, still using the edge of the bath to prop herself "G-get P-papa". With widening eyes, Li Xiao hurried off of her lap, and practically ran from the bathroom. He hurried down the hall, creaking open the door to the smaller room Yao was sitting in. He leaned on the doorframe, swallowing hard before he tried to catch his attention. "Papa..?". He turned his head towards the door, smiling a little "Shi aru?" He stood up and walked towards Li "Is everything alright aru?"

"M-Mama needs you," He stammered, eyes beading with tears again as he pointed down the hall in a panic, cheeks reddening. "In the bathroom." He nodded and ran towards the bathroom with Li. They both could hear the cries of pain coming from Alice's mouth as her contractions grew worse and became more frequent. As they entered the room, Alice was sitting slumped up against the wall in a pool of fast forming blood, much more than there should've been for a normal labor. Yao looked around the room, grabbing all the towels he could find and helping his wife back into their bedroom. More blood spilt from in between her legs and it wasn't before long that he realised something was very, very wrong. He eventually managed to lay her on the bed without hurting her too much. He decided to spend whatever money he had left on a doctor for Alice, knowing that this time she needed professional help. He didn't want to take his eyes of her for even a second, let alone an entire phone call. In the corner of the room Li was sitting there, eyes wide with horror and fear. Yao walked calmly over and knelt down in front of the small shaking boy, trying to smile "Li aru…go and sit with Mama okay aru? Papa needs to call a doctor" Li shakily nodded his head, stood up and walked over to Alice's bedside. He took hold of her pale hand and kissed it lightly "M-Mama…?" Alice shifted her head so she was facing him. She smiled at him and reached her hand towards his face. Her smile suddenly faded when her eyes started to flicker shut and her face went even paler than it already was. He hand fell beside her stiff cold body. Li stood there in silence, not completely sure what to do. He couldn't shout, his voice still hurt too much and it would only come out as a whisper anyway. He didn't want to leave her side, because she might become worse. A few moments later Yao returned and saw the condition his poor wife was in. He ran to her side, grabbing hold of her hand and desperately searching for a pulse. Nothing. He tried again only still to find no beating pulse. He knew that whatever he tried, nothing would work on her, and possibly would only make it worse. He sighed, feeling the sharp stinging tears form in his eyes. It was too late either way. Even if the doctor bothered to turn up, nothing could be done to save her now. All those times he'd wasted with other girls, on cheap useless alcohol in run down bars, when he could've spent it with his family. His rage grew and he slammed a fist against the wall, sobbing lightly and shouting out profanities in slurred Chinese.


End file.
